THE PRESENT POPE IS TO PREACH SATHYA BABA'S
MESSAGE?A brief study in superficial belief and acceptance of misinformation and hoaxes

The Prophecy of Pope John XXIII
"Le profezie di Papa Giovanni" by Pier Carpi (published by Edizioni Mediterranee) collects some prophecies that Pope John XXIII allegedly stated in Turkey, around 1935. In one of these prophecies the Pope tells about a "barefoot saint", who has been associated with Sai Baba: In the text where Pope John tells about one of his successors, one reads:-

"Blessed, blessed, blessed. [...]Virgin Mary is near. Virgin Mary who was sacrified[...] It will be difficult the beginning of the road, walking in Rome in days of blood.[...] In your house you will admit a saint with naked feet.[...] The saint will also speak for you in every country and from the world white flowers will surround you. [...] And you will make yourself barefoot, and you will walk with the barefoot saint.[...]"

(quoted and translated from "Le profezie di Papa Giovanni" The entire series from Edizioni Milesi: this publishing house has almost nothing but publications about Sai Baba, such as the work for Edizioni Milesi by Giancarlo Rosati (a Sai Baba expert and supporter)

The prophecy doesn't seems to contain anything leading to Sathya Sai Baba. The only somewhat relevant specification is that the saint is barefoot, and Sai Baba very seldom uses sandals or other footwear. Naked feet have often been a symbol of renouncement and humbleness, so Sai Baba is far for unique in that. Further, the saint was prophesied as speaking for the Pope, and walking barefoot together with him. None of this has taken place, of course, and most definitely cannot do so in future either, since the present Pope Benedict is a Christain extremist who rejects as infidels all who do not believe Jesus to be the sole saviour of mankind (which Sathya Sai Baba definitively rejects!). Further, Sathya Sai Baba has for some years been incapable of walking due to a major and chronic hip joint injury.

In a message dated 10/17/00 12:13:45 PM, RadheM writes: "Recently, Mr. XX a Sai Devotee who lives in Ottawa came back
from Prashanti. Mr. (XX) has a brother whose name is Mr. Gopal,
and he lives in Toronto.
Mr. Gopal had a special puja in his place last week and to those who attended he told a bit about his brothers experiences in Prashanti.

.... (Most of the message is deleted here)

But it contained the following information: Swami talked to a Canadian Mr. XX and one important "message he felt he should share was that Swami said to him: 'The next Pope will preach My message'""

Comment: So it is the present Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph
Ratzinger) who is to preach Sai Baba's message. The latter's
message is "Why fear when I am here?", i.e. that he is the
Saviour/Avatar, his life being his Message, only he will redeem the
world from disaster and so on. (He stands widely accused of homosexual
abuse and covering up murders in his own bedroom). This would mean,
not Jesus' message any more, but Sai Baba's (which is further proven
to conflict with both Jesus' and the Papacy's teachings in crucial respects).
This papal preaching has not been observed so far. In short, no such
Papal Bull! I just wonder if this is yet another "Sai Baba miracle"
for "loving his uncertainty" and his holding us in suspense...

One cannot by the wildest flight of unreason
reconcile the even more fundamentalist and intolerant new Pope embracing
the Sai Baba doctrine of himself as the only incarnation of Father
who sent Christ! Here is a passage by a British journalist resident
in Italy which succinctly describes the situation in the Vatican in
2003 (2 years before the accession of Ratzinger to the Papacy).

The case of Don Mario Mazzoleni definitively illustrates the position of the Vatican/Catholic church on Sathya Sai Baba. While former Pater Mario Mazzoleni was formally excommunicated for insisting that Sathya Sai Baba is on a par with Christ, one can only surmise what the present Pope Benedict would make of the worldwide allegations about Sai Baba's homosexuality and abuse.

"Then
Tuesday, the first major document of his pontificate leaked out, banning
most gay men from the priesthood. For many church experts, the document
was an overdue sign that Benedict would, in fact, be an active pope
- though perhaps quieter, more deliberative and more surprising than
many expected when this very subtle man who had been called "God's
Rottweiler" by his critics took office."

"The
intolerance not just to other religions, but to other types of Christianity,
is unfortunately fostered by the upper echelons of the Church. In
August 2000 a Church declaration (called Dominus Jesus and endorsed
by the Pope) announced that the Catholic Church represented the only
'valid' and 'genuine' Christian episcopate. Any other type of ordination
- either Anglican or Non-Conformist - was simple heresy. Even to many
Catholic onlookers it appeared like something from the Middle Ages.
The inspiration for such announcements is invariably Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, a man who heads what is called the Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith (an organisation that acts as the guard dog against
pluralism and tolerance). It doesn't take long to realise that Roman
Catholicism is excruciatingly conservative and - like Italy itself-
acutely hierarchical." ('The
Dark Heart of Italy' by Tobias
Jones, 2003)